hines



Dec. 29, 1964 R. J. HINES 3,162,911

APPARATUS FOR MAKING SAND MOLDS FOR CASTINGS Filed July 17, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet l /2 HI! "IN!!! V V %Q V %L 30 W 30 n E I /e a El 2/ 2/2 W Z, 2 2 48 \4Z I w L INVEN TOR. 05551! a. II/A [S 2% w zw Dec. 29, 1964 R. J. HINES 3,162,911

APPARATUS FOR MAKING SAND MOLDS FOR CASTINGS Filed July 17, 1961 i 0 few/360 Zane m United States Patent 3,162,911 APPARATUS FGR MAKING SAND MGLBS FOR CASTINGS Russell J. Hines, Bay Viilage, ()hio, assignor to Tijhe Hines Flask Company, Cleveland, tlhio, a corporation of Ohio Filed .luiy 17, 19st, Ser. No. 125,045 5 Claims. (ill. 22-101) This invention relates in general to apparatus for making sand molds for castings, and particularly to molds that are used in foundries for making metallic castings.

In present day foundry practice, the trend is towards the use of higher pressures in ramming or forcing sand into a flask containing a pattern, for the formulation of a mold for casting purposes. This use of increased pressures results in the tendency of the walls of the conventional flask to bow or deform outwardly and in some instances to even fracture the flask walls. This is particularly so where the flask sections are formed of aluminum or other lightweight metal to reduce the weight thereof. A bow or deformity of the flask walls results in a deformed sand mold, which prevents proper fitting of the conventional jackets used to enclose the mold during pouring operations, which in turn usually results in defective castings. Without a proper fit of the jacket on the mold, a run-out, shifted or swollen casting usually occurs, resulting in a high rate of scrap castings. Also in modern practice, wherein a match pattern plate is utilized to form the mold cavity in the cope and drag flasks sections, it is highly important that the match plate be held against movement with respect to the flask sections, to obtain proper and accurate positioning of the mold cavities with respect to the mold body.

In the pending United States patent application, of Russell J. Hines, Serial No. 27,834, filed May 9, 1960, issued as Patent No. 3,022,553, dated February 27, 1962, there is disclosed the provision of spaced, coacting projections, an aperture means on the walls of the cope and drag flask sections, and on a match plate, whereby automatic aligning or centering of the match plate and cope and drag flask sections is accomplished, and with such projection and aperture means coacting to resist outward deformation of the flask Walls during ramming of the sand into the flask sections, during the molding operations.

While such an arrangement has performed satisfactorily, the locating of the spaced projection and recess means on the cope and drag flask sections, and on the match pattern plate, usually requires a jig-fixture, and considerable time and work operations. Moreover, since the flask sections'and pattern plate are subjected to rough handling in use, such as spaced projection and aperture arrangement is fairly readily subject to damage and thus misalignment.

The present invention contemplates the provision of elongated lugs extending along the sides or boundaries of, and integrally attached to, the match pattern plate, and adapted to be received in complementary recesses formed in the cope and drag flasks sections, whereby automatic centering of the match plate and cope and drag flasks sections is accomplished and with such lug and complementary recess means coacting to effectively resist outward deformation of the flask walls during ramming of sand into the flask sections.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved and simplified flask arrangement and associated match pattern plate, for the production of sand molds for castings.

Another object of the invention is to provide a improved flask and pattern plate arrangement for the produ tion of sand molds for castin s, and embodying elongated lugs extending generally along the boundaries of the patgenerally centrally mounted on the tern plate, and dapted for being received in complementary recesses in the walls of the drag and cope flask sections, thereby providing for registering of the pattern plate with the cope and drag flask sections, while also providing considerable resistance to deformation of the walls of the flask sections, during ramming of sand into the flask sections in the mold producing operation.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel match pattern plate arangement, wherein the plate portion of the pattern comprises projecting lug means thereon extending both from the upper and lower surfaces of the plate portion, and with such lug means being adapted to be received in complementary recesses in cope and drag flask sections, for aligning the pattern plate with respect to the flask sections, and for providing effective resistance to deformation of the walls of the flask secs tions, during ramming of sand in the flask sections.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a generally diagrammatic, vertical sectional view illustrating a flask assembly embodying the lug and recess means of the invention, and including cope and drag flask sections with the match pattern plate disposed therebetween, and as oriented in a molding press;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, top plan View of the pattern plate of the invention, and illustrates more particularly the lug means projecting from the upper or cope side thereof;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken generally along the plane of line 33 of FIG. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows, and;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken generally along the plane of line 4-4, of PEG. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now again to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1 thereof, there is more or less diagrammatically illustrated a conventional molding press lit having a press head 12 and a bed plate 14.

A flask assembly A, comprising a cope flask section 16, a drag flask section 18, and an intermediate match pattern plate 24), is disposed between the press head 12 and the bed plate 14 of the press. The pattern body 21 is plate portion 22 of the pattern plate, and comprises cope and drag forming portions 22a and 2211 respectively, disposed on opposite sides of plate portion 22.

The flash sections 16 and 18 side and end Walls joined in the form of a rectangle, to form a hollow frame open at the top and bottom thereof. The walls may be hinged together at one corner and may be provided with suitable means for locking the diagonally opposite corner by means of conventional lock mechanism, or the flask sections may be of the slip-type illustrated. Reference may be had to the aforementioned patent application, Serial No. 27,834, new Patent No. 3,022,553, which shows in greater detail a flask section embodying a locking mechanism.

The flask sections may be provided with a suitable means for facilitating the aligning of the flask sections during assembly into stacked relation, and as for example, the vertically spaced apertured flanges 30 on the end walls of the flask sections, which are adapted to receive a pin 32 therethrough, for aiding in vertically aligning the flask sections during superimposing thereof, and in the conventional and well-known manner.

In accordance with the instant invention, the plate portion 22 of the pattern plate is provided generally adjacent its side boundaries, with elongated, projecting lug means 36. Such lug means 36 projects both from the upper and under surface of the plate portion of the patconventionally comprise r z) tern plate, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, and such lug means may extend the full length of the respective boundary, or may be terminated short of the edges of the boundary, and as best illustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawings.

The cope flask section 16 on its underside is recessed,

as at 40, generally complementary in depth and length to the height and length respectively of the lugs on the cope or upper side of the pattern plate, While the drag flask section is likewise recessed as at 42, in its top side, for receiving the lugs on the pattern plate which project from the undersurface thereof.

It will be noted that the upstanding elongated projcc- 7 tions or lugs on the match pattern plate provide more or less vertical abutments 46 for coaction with the substantially vertical abutments or shoulders d8 on the correspending flask sectiorn Thus when pressure is applied to the sand invthe flask sections, the holding coaction between the lugs on the pattern plate and the confronting shoulders on the flask sections effectively prevents outward deformation of the walls of the flask sections. Such retaining means (i.e. the lugs 36 on the pattern or from the flask. The cope and drag mold portions can then be assembled into a finalized mold and be encompassed with the conventional jacket for pouring operations. I *rom the foregoing description and accompanying drawings, it will be seen that the present invention provides a considerably simplified and improved flask, and

The terms and expressions which have been employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation,

match plate and the recesses 49, 42 in the walls of the flask sections) extend along a major portion of the associated boundary of the respective match or flask wall;

When the pattern plate and flask sections are moved into the assembled relationship as shown in FIG. 1, the lugs 36 on the upper side of the pattern plate are received in the complementary recesses 4! on the underside of the cope flask section, while the lugs on the un derside of the pattern plate are received in the complementary recesses 42 in the top of; the drag flask section, thereby assuring accurate alignment of the flask sections and pattern plate. The lug 36, and recess 5d and 42 construction is extremely rugged and can stand the wear and tear that foundry flask assemblies are subjected to without getting out of alignment.

Making of the mold is accomplished by filling the drag flask section with sand 'in a flask and'pattern plate assembly and which is placed in open end up condition, and striking the sand off with any suitable means such as the bottom squeeze board 68, placing the bottom board 68 on the sand inside of the drag flask section, and then jolting the mold and rolling the flask assembly over so that the cope-flask section is up. Then the cope flask section is filled with sand, the latter being struck oil by board may be placed on the sand inside the cope flask section or": the flask assembly. erated to squeeze the sand in the drag flask section 18 toward the drag portion 22b of the match plate pattern, and the sand in the cope flask section towards the cope portion 22a of the match plate pattern, and with pres- 1 as Well as considerably extending the life of the flask assembly. 7

In the well known pop-off type of flask, when one corher is open and the flask assembly, orin other words the corner with the lock thereon is released, there is a non-equalized strain placed on the respective mold section. This may distort either the cope or drag mold portion and cause a defective mold. It will be seen that with the present arrangement, upon deactivation of the conventional corner lock, the flask section is still pre- 7 vented from popping open because of the coacting elongated lug and recess means, until disassembly of the.

cope anddrag flask sections from the :match pattern plate is accomplished, and therefore with much less change of distortion of the mold upon removal thereof The press It is then op- 7 means of the cope squeeze board 79, and then the squeeze and there is no, intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of any of the,

features shown or described, or portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

1 claim: v

1. An assembly for sand molds, including an upper flask section, a lower flask'section, and a match pattern plate disposed between said flask sections in the assembled stacked position of said flask sections for molding operations, each of said flask section having a pair of oppositely disposed side walls and a pair of'oppositely disposed end walls interconnected at their respective corners to define an enclosed generally rectangular boundary open at the top and bottom thereof, and retaining means projecting from the upper and lower surfaces of said match plate adjacent all marginal boundaries thereof coacting withcomplementary retaining means on each of said side and end'walls of said flask sections for aligning said flask sections and match plate and for increasing the resistance to deformation of said walls during molding operations, said retaining means projecting from the'match plate comprising elongated generally horizontally extending lugs, each of which defines a vertical generally planar abutmentportion extending continuously along a major portion of the associated boundary of said match plate, said retaining means on each of the side and end walls of said flask sections cornprising generally horizontally extending recesses;

each of which defines a complementary vertical shoulder portion extending lengthwise continuously along a major portion of the associatedwall of the respective flask section for abutting coaction' with the corresponding abutmentportion on said match plate.

2. A match pattern plate adapted for use with molding flasks, said match plate having a central pattern body portion including cope and drag forming configurations on opposite sides thereof, means on opposite ends of said plate adapted for aligning the plate with respect to the flasks, and retaining means projecting from the upper and lower surfaces of saidmatch plate adjacent all marginal boundariesthere'of, said retaining means comprising horizontally extending lugs, each of which definesa vertical generally planar abutment portion of a predetermined height extending lengthwise continuously along a major portion of the'associated boundary of said'match plate and adapted to be received in generally abutting coactio-n within acomplementary recess means on a respective one of the molding flasks for also aligning the flasks and match plate and for increasing the resistance tordeformation of the flasks during mold producing operations.

3. A flask section adapted for use with a match pattern'plate,xsaicl flask section having side and end walls interconnected at their respective corners thereof to define an enclosed boundary open at the top and bottom thereof, and retaining means on each of the side and each of the end walls of said flask section adjacent marginal edges thereof, said retaining means comprising generally horizontally extending recesses on the outer side of the respective wall, each of which defines an elongated generally vertically disposed, planar shoulder portion extending continuously along a major portion of the respective wall of said flask section, and which is adapted to coactingly receive in generally abutting relation a complementary lug means projecting from the match plate, for aligning said flask section and the match plate and for increasing the resistance to deformation of said flask section during mold producing operations.

4. In a molding flask assembly for making sand molds, including a cope flask section, a drag flask section, and a match pattern plate, each of said flask sections having a plurality of side walls interconnected at their respective ends to define an enclosed boundary open at the top and bottom thereof, said match pattern plate being positioned between said cope and drag flask sections in the assembled stacked condition of the latter for mold producing operations, and means on each of said walls and on said match pattern plate for aligning said flask sections and match pattern plate and for increasing the resistance to deformation of said walls during mold producing operations, said means comprising elongated lugs on said match pattern plate extending lengthwise along associated boundaries thereof and being received in complementary recesses in the confronting of said walls, said lugs projecting from both the upper side and the underside of said match pattern plate, and wherein each of said lugs extends continuously along a major portion of the associated boundary of the match pattern plate and with both ends thereof terminating short of the associated boundaries of said match pattern plate.

5. A molding flask assembly in accordance with claim 4, wherein said lugs are symmetrically arranged with respect to said match pattern plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 7,915 Still Jan. 28, 1851 309,629 Kinsley Dec. 23, 1884 561,190 Withers June 2, 1896 966,558 Johness Aug. 9, 1910 1,049,212 Curl Dec. 31, 1912 1,913,107 Bruyne June 6, 1933 2,206,034 Hagemeyer July 2, 1940 

1. AN ASSEMBLY FOR SAND MOLDS, INCLUDING AN UPPER FLASK SECTION, A LOWER FLASK SECTION, AND A MATCH PATTERN PLATE DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID FLASK SECTIONS IN THE ASSEMBLED STACKED POSITION OF SAID FLASK SECTIONS FOR MOLDING OPERATIONS, EACH OF SAID FLASK SECTIONS HAVING A PAIR OF OPPOSITELY DISPOSED SIDE WALLS AND A PAIR OF OPPOSITELY DISPOSED END WALLS INTERCONNECTED AT THEIR RESPECTIVE CORNERS TO DEFINE AN ENCLOSED GENERALLY RECTANGULAR BOUNDARY OPEN AT THE TOP AND BOTTOM THEREOF, AND RETAINING MEANS PROJECTING FROM THE UPPER AND LOWER SURFACES OF SAID MATCH PLATE ADJACENT ALL MARGINAL BOUNDARIES THEREOF COACTING WITH COMPLEMENTARY RETAINING MEANS ON EACH OF SAID SIDE AND END WALLS OF SAID FLASK SECTIONS FOR ALIGNING SAID FLASK SECTIONS AND MATCH PLATE AND FOR INCREASING THE RESISTANCE TO DEFORMATION OF SAID WALLS DURING MOLDING OPERATIONS, SAID RETAINING MEANS PROJECTING FROM THE MATCH PLATE COMPRISING ELONGATED GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING LUGS, EACH OF WHICH DEFINES A VERTICAL GENERALLY PLANAR ABUTMENT PORTION EXTENDING CONTINUOUSLY ALONG A MAJOR PORTION OF THE ASSOCIATED BOUNDARY OF SAID MATCH PLATE, SAID RETAINING MEANS ON EACH OF THE SIDE AND END WALLS OF SAID FLASK SECTIONS COMPRISING GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING RECESSES, EACH OF WHICH DEFINES A COMPLEMENTARY VERTICAL SHOULDER PORTION EXTENDING LENGTHWISE CONTINUOUSLY ALONG A MAJOR PORTION OF THE ASSOCIATED WALL OF THE RESPECTIVE FLASK SECTION FOR ABUTTING COACTION WITH THE CORRESPONDING ABUTMENT PORTION ON SAID MATCH PLATE. 